Many persons for an array of medical reasons not relevant herein require that their digestive tracts at some point be surgically terminated through the abdominal wall, rather than through the rectum and anus. Called an ileostomy when the last section of the small intestine known as the ileum is opened and brought to the abdominal surface, and called a colostomy when it is the colon that is opened and brought to the abdominal surface, these surgical procedures result in a bud-like opening in the abdomen known as a stoma through which evacuation of all remaining digestive products thereafter occur.
Inasmuch as the stoma contains no sphincter muscle to permit excretion control of the remaining digestive products, it is necessary to provide some appliance unobtrusively under the wearer's clothing, commonly referred to as a stoma pouch, to collect and contain the effluent. When the stoma pouch is filled to its maximum capacity it must be replaced, using appropriate methods to insure that the skin surrounding the stoma be kept meticulously clean to avoid irritation and infection. Unfortunately, quite often the stoma pouch fills to its capacity when it is inconvenient or impossible for the wearer to replace the same, especially while maintaining any semblance of sanitation. Accordingly, stoma pouches have been designed with recloseable, tapered openings for draining the contents thereof. Amazingly, however, to my knowledge the only device heretofore used to collect and dispose of the discharge in the stoma pouch has been the ordinary paper cup.
The utilization of a disposable cup to collect and dispose of discharge in the stoma pouch presents numerous inconveniences, difficulties and sanitary hazards. For example, it is at least inconvenient and discomforting to have to use one's bare hand to force discharge through the stoma pouch drain and into the cup. Depending upon the configurations involved, it is often difficult to fit the stoma pouch tapered drain into the cup and maintain it therein during drainage of the stoma pouch. Indeed, if miraculously spillage does not occur during this drainage process, discharge almost certainly will be deposited on the outside of the stoma pouch and/or on the wearer's hand, both unpleasant and sanitarily deleterious, and requiring further laborious and possibly embarrassing clean-up measures. Additionally, the indiscriminate disposal of the discharge-filled cup is exceedingly troublesome as there is no effective mechanism for providing a liquid-tight closure of the cup and because the discharge remains in plain view, discomforting to some stoma pouch wearers and most other persons.